East and eastern tactics

[Kwarw123]

this was not at night it was at sunset. I went up a fenceline that had a patch of cover on the land I was hunting and trying to call them to the edge of, the house was on the land behind me on the other side of the fence.it happened fast and caught me off guard. I think i wrote about this incident on a post here a few years ago. I started calling then all of a sudden it sounded like semi automatic 22 rounds snapping off over me, I instantly rolled over and laid close to the ground, I should have yelled but it took me a minute to process what was happening. When I stood up i could not see anyone outside, I was a little shook up trying to decide what to do next so I just grabbed me gear and made my way back to the truck, it was the last stand of the day getting dark.

Here in SC there is a law about hunting within I think 300 yards of someones home without there permission. Even if you are on a different property.
Regardless I would not be close to anyone's home without them knowing what I am doing. I would knock and let them know what I am doing,that I have permission and find out if they have a dog. I would also assure them that I am safe and aware of their property line. That would avoid them calling the law and if they shot in my direction I would have them arrested.
I have three neighbors that are that close that know whats up over here. I don't go full auto AR at 2 A.M. though. I use a 22 Magnum AR around the house and have strict kill zone that I limit myself to.

 

[hm1996]

I started calling then all of a sudden it sounded like semi automatic 22 rounds snapping off over me, I instantly rolled over and laid close to the ground, I should have yelled but it took me a minute to process what was happening.

many years ago, when in my teens, I was lying down in the middle of a large spread of silhouette goose decoys when some dumbazz drove up behind a thin strip of trees and cut loose with a .22, hitting one of the decoys in the neck. probably by accident. Not the smartest response in the world, but I did the only thing that popped into my head, jumped up and cranked off both barrels of my shotgun pointing up in the air. He got the message and left post haste. In the heat of the moment, it never entered my mind that he might fire again after the "geese" failed to fly.
I know, gave him far too much credit for having a brain.

Regardless of time or condition that is still a dumbazz thing to do.

Amen!

 

[Stu Farish]

Can't say I've mastered any techniques in the east. But our coyotes tend to get a lot bigger due to better conditions for food & water. and maybe they tend to get older since they may not be hunted as much in a lot of places.

The places I've hunted out west has had vast tracts of public land but not all the west has that. In the southeast, for me it's mostly small bits of private land or sometimes a bigger chunk of public land but that stuff gets hunted a lot. Even if coyotes aren't the common target they run into a lot of hunters.

 

[limbhanger10]

Now my responses are for night hunting. Daytime hunting is pretty much off my list now. I miss it but from a standpoint of available time during the day vs night.

For high pressure areas(hunter activities) -which usually starts at bear season to after rifle in mid December, to when the dog runners slow down t the end of March- I'd say it probably standing in silence for a long time(usually a minimum hour+ a stand) and maybe giving a call every 15-30 minutes.
We've killed the vast majority of our coyotes after 30 minutes. Most times it may take that amount of time to get a response or a visual.
Even in the tight quarters of more populated housing areas(subdivisions)..
It's basically a defensive game.. I'll keep it subtle, low key- like hey...anyone around? And just wait.
An example of tight quarters is a year ago tonight, I killed a pair in a 30 yard deep by 60 yards long backyard. As I pulled in their driveway I could hear the coyotes singing. I hustled to the back patio, shut off the perimeter lights, set the call by the corner of patio, ran to back corner of detached garage with a backdrop of spruce. I could hear people talking in the house behind me. I let out a couple howls as they were yipping and they went silent. I waited almost 30 minutes before I called again...quietly letting out some female sub. Now even the FOV scanning with a 1.6x has minimal panning...the backyard dropped off to some thick brush and didn't see the male until he was literally standing there behind the call about30 yards away. Dropped him and hit the Foxbang..turned it down a bit and waited...all I saw was her head as she skirted the yard, stopped and dropped her.

About 2 months ago and Two houses down...with a little bigger yard. 20yards wide x 75 deep with the same strip of small woods I set the call right along the weeds to the right at about 60 yards. Gave a serenade and had a family group answer. The whole time I scanned the gun was in my shoulder. I could barely get the whole scene in my scanner and knew it would be fast and had to be ready...they were noisy the whole time in until the last 100 yards.... then the mature female came to the call, ran directly at me and stopped with leaves from a tree blocking everything but her head. As I looked through the scope I could see her head moving ever time she barked- and made the shot. I no sooner got situated again when I another coyote was at the call sniffing the exact track of the female and dropped him. Racked the bolt and coyote #3 was just turning from the call I stopped it and as I pulled the trigger #4 ran into the screen, spooked it and I gut shot it. ..then shot #4.
I have the thermal view picture of where they dropped from my standpoint somewhere and I'll add to give a better idea of how tight it was.

Don't let all the trees fool ya. The call was set at the cattails...the coyotes came from the left...some of the fastest action I ever had.

 

[hm1996]

S. Tx hunting is similar to what I've seen described here, very little open country and no hills. Not sure where that east/west "Mason Dixie Line" is, but wouldn't say we are east or west.

The places I've hunted out west has had vast tracts of public land but not all the west has that. In the southeast, for me it's mostly small bits of private land or sometimes a bigger chunk of public land but that stuff gets hunted a lot. Even if coyotes aren't the common target they run into a lot of hunters.

No public land in this end of TX, but the ranches I hunt do get quite a lot of traffic from lease hunters and oil field vehicular traffic. I don't think the vehicular traffic bothers them a lot, but most of the lease hunters do take a shot at any coyote they happen to see, so not many targets of opportunity, but have called in lots of coyotes shortly after a truck passes, as long as they do not stop! So, not a lot different than your area.

The whole time I scanned the gun was in my shoulder.

This is pretty tight, especially in depth from S. TX. a lot wider than most two tracks but about same as power or pipeline senderos. Hunted quite a bit with lights in the past but never w/night vision or thermal. My daytime stands are usually 30 minutes, sometimes 45 if promising and, since those responding often bust across the sendero as if Satan himself was on their tail, I generally keep my rifle on my shoulder the whole time. That is some very heavy brush, but it sure is prettier than S. TX brush and ours has thorns on every bush.

Enjoyed the read, thanks for sharing!

Regards,
hm

 

[Stu Farish]

Our cover tends to be thick & terrain often hilly/broken, depending. But there can also be large open areas such as fields, pastures & clear cut woods.

Even out west n desert terrain i found a lot of pretty thick cover to deal with in places but it was still different in other ways

Been quite a few years, I need a hunting trip out to NM or AZ again

 

[DoubleUp]

I never hunted out in the west, but have been in most of those states. I have no way to compare other than seeing videos on TV. I'm in extreme eastern North Carolina right on Pamlico Sound. Our land is as flat as a pancake here. We do have some pretty large fields, but nothing compared to western states. Mostly it's either fields here or pine plantations. These run the gamut from cut-downs to timber ready for harvest. The fields/farms are privately owned, and the pine plantations belong to one of several timber companies with Weyerhaeuser the major one. All of the timber land is posted and mostly leased to hunting clubs. Most of them, give us permission to hunt their clubs. They have timber roads cut through them and if you call one out it has to be on one of those roads. Otherwise, you can't see much of anything. Most of the farmers in my area want the coyotes gone and have given us permission to hunt their fields. There are some limited game lands, but night hunting isn't allowed on them for coyotes.

We also have a lot of black bear in this area. Some of them are quite large, but the bigger ones don't seem to be very aggressive. The smaller, 250 lb. class are the ones you have to watch. They do occasionally come to prey distress, especially fawn distress. We've even had them come to coyote vocals. On one memorable occasion we had one popping his teeth at us from about 25 feet behind us in the woods. That was kind of unnerving. Generally, these days we don't setup right next to the woods because of that. Our bear don't hibernate so they can be around any time. Last Sunday night on a rainy NE wind, we had 6 bears in the field here behind my home at the same time.

Perhaps we could use a shotgun in the daytime and call them in the mature pines like the MFK guys do, but I have no interest in shooting them with a shotgun. They are very difficult to get in the open during daylight and stick to the wooded areas. So, it is mostly a night calling thing here. We can't shoot bobcats or fox after dark and can't use an e-call for them in the daytime. Coyote furs here are useless and that was before the fur market collapse with Covid. That's sort of a synopsis of our area.

 

[Kwarw123]

I went to my neighbors 80 TH birthday party with most of my other neighbors. I live on Lake Hartwell (57,000) acres and at 63 I am the kid in the group, most everyone is retired. My wife and I learned of an "Invasion" of Armadillos as it was described to us. I was "Assigned"armadillo patrol from my elders. They got quite a kick out of the vision of me sneaking around in my black pajamas.
Anyone have any armadillo calls or tips? I've killed a few with a truck but that's the extent of my experience.

I got permission to shoot coyotes from one of their backyards which borders a lot of Army Corp property on two sides and I know they stay in there. Gonna take my bush hog over there and knock down some thick stuff to give me some more room, it will happen fast cause I will be right on top of them.
I let you know how it goes I'm ordering my pajamas today!

 

[Yellowhammer]

An example of tight quarters is a year ago tonight, I killed a pair in a 30 yard deep by 60 yards long backyard

If that is the property size you better not miss here in Texas. It is against the law to shoot across a property without permission.

Mostly it's either fields here or pine plantations. These run the gamut from cut-downs to timber ready for harvest. The fields/farms are privately owned, and the pine plantations belong to one of several timber companies with Weyerhaeuser the major one. All of the timber land is posted and mostly leased to hunting clubs. Most of them, give us permission to hunt their clubs. They have timber roads cut through them and if you call one out it has to be on one of those roads. Otherwise, you can't see much of anything

Exact same situation here except you cant count on permission unless you know some one pretty good, especially if they have members that coyote hunt, which a lot do.

Most pastures around here have at least one house somewhere on the edge. Most more than one.

 

[Infidel 762]

Well from what has already been previously stated that “ a coyote is a coyote “ I see no reason to explain my tactics as they are the same as yours that I also use here in Pennsylvania !
Happy hunting

I don’t mean that in a negative way towards any of you. I respect the consistency you get them killed every year and what it takes to get them killed in your area. All I am saying is coyotes have the same instincts that get triggered bringing them into the call Wherever you go.

i honestly would like to hear what tactics you use to get them killed, I know you aint no spring chicken and got the skills. I am always looking for ways to improve

 

[Infidel 762]

Here in SC there is a law about hunting within I think 300 yards of someones home without there permission. Even if you are on a different property.
Regardless I would not be close to anyone's home without them knowing what I am doing. I would knock and let them know what I am doing,that I have permission and find out if they have a dog. I would also assure them that I am safe and aware of their property line. That would avoid them calling the law and if they shot in my direction I would have them arrested.
I have three neighbors that are that close that know whats up over here. I don't go full auto AR at 2 A.M. though. I use a 22 Magnum AR around the house and have strict kill zone that I limit myself to.

We have the same law here, no shooting within 300 yards of an occupied dwelling. I was further than 300 yards. i do sometimes talk to neighbors before I go out and it has at times gotten me access to their property aswell.

 

[Infidel 762]

I never hunted out in the west, but have been in most of those states. I have no way to compare other than seeing videos on TV. I'm in extreme eastern North Carolina right on Pamlico Sound. Our land is as flat as a pancake here. We do have some pretty large fields, but nothing compared to western states. Mostly it's either fields here or pine plantations. These run the gamut from cut-downs to timber ready for harvest. The fields/farms are privately owned, and the pine plantations belong to one of several timber companies with Weyerhaeuser the major one. All of the timber land is posted and mostly leased to hunting clubs. Most of them, give us permission to hunt their clubs. They have timber roads cut through them and if you call one out it has to be on one of those roads. Otherwise, you can't see much of anything. Most of the farmers in my area want the coyotes gone and have given us permission to hunt their fields. There are some limited game lands, but night hunting isn't allowed on them for coyotes.

We also have a lot of black bear in this area. Some of them are quite large, but the bigger ones don't seem to be very aggressive. The smaller, 250 lb. class are the ones you have to watch. They do occasionally come to prey distress, especially fawn distress. We've even had them come to coyote vocals. On one memorable occasion we had one popping his teeth at us from about 25 feet behind us in the woods. That was kind of unnerving. Generally, these days we don't setup right next to the woods because of that. Our bear don't hibernate so they can be around any time. Last Sunday night on a rainy NE wind, we had 6 bears in the field here behind my home at the same time.

Perhaps we could use a shotgun in the daytime and call them in the mature pines like the MFK guys do, but I have no interest in shooting them with a shotgun. They are very difficult to get in the open during daylight and stick to the wooded areas. So, it is mostly a night calling thing here. We can't shoot bobcats or fox after dark and can't use an e-call for them in the daytime. Coyote furs here are useless and that was before the fur market collapse with Covid. That's sort of a synopsis of our area.

I lived in Fayetteville, NC from 2001-2005 stationed at fort Bragg. I remember the pines and cotton fields

 

[DoubleUp]

Thanks Infidel and thank you for your service. You 82nd guys are a Stonewall. Here, where I am farther east, Fayetteville would look like the mountains to us. Lol

 

[Kwarw123]

I don’t mean that in a negative way towards any of you. I respect the consistency you get them killed every year and what it takes to get them killed in your area. All I am saying is coyotes have the same instincts that get triggered bringing them into the call Wherever you go.

i honestly would like to hear what tactics you use to get them killed, I know you aint no spring chicken and got the skills. I am always looking for ways to improve

When I was first TRYING to kill coyotes I made many mistakes. I approached it the same way I called foxes with no success. It didn't take me long to realize that I needed help. I went looking around and found this site. I lurked here for years before joining. The information that helped me the most I found in the East section mainly because of the similar terrain and conditions. Do I think the coyotes here are any different than any where else? NO. What I do believe is they have adapted to the local conditions in order to thrive here. I live in Upstate SC at the base of the Blue Ridge mountains.If I go East I'll be in the Midlands (upper coastal plains)and further east will get me in the Low Country (lower coastal plains) like where Doubleup lives. All of that is a 250 mile area. If I go North just 30-40 miles I'm in the mountains. My point is the coyotes adapt to the Local area and we must as well.
The first thing I was doing wrong was over calling. I learned that silence is golden here.
The second was wrong sound type. I was using wounded prey a lot. I learned to exploit their territorial nature with howls,barks then wait. Now that I believe is universal anywhere.
And lastly was stealth and patience,getting in undetected and waiting.

I am far from an expert more like a student. I hunt alone mostly at night. I adapt accordingly like I do not use aggressive challenges simply because I do not want 3 or more flying in at 50 MPH into my tiny kill zone. I want them sneaking in curious and peeking around. I have around a 90 degree KZ and 270 degree scan zone,so covering that and the transition to the gun without getting busted is something I am working on, it isn't near as quick as I would like. I watch you guys like a hawk to perfect things like this.
With that said if I had a partner to scan and cover his zone and an area that was larger and didn't have to worry about the house this way and such I would start off with a straight up challenge and hope 4-5 come flying in.
I realize East,West wherever each area and set has it's own challenges

 

[Infidel 762]

When I was first TRYING to kill coyotes I made many mistakes. I approached it the same way I called foxes with no success. It didn't take me long to realize that I needed help. I went looking around and found this site. I lurked here for years before joining. The information that helped me the most I found in the East section mainly because of the similar terrain and conditions. Do I think the coyotes here are any different than any where else? NO. What I do believe is they have adapted to the local conditions in order to thrive here. I live in Upstate SC at the base of the Blue Ridge mountains.If I go East I'll be in the Midlands (upper coastal plains)and further east will get me in the Low Country (lower coastal plains) like where Doubleup lives. All of that is a 250 mile area. If I go North just 30-40 miles I'm in the mountains. My point is the coyotes adapt to the Local area and we must as well.
The first thing I was doing wrong was over calling. I learned that silence is golden here.
The second was wrong sound type. I was using wounded prey a lot. I learned to exploit their territorial nature with howls,barks then wait. Now that I believe is universal anywhere.
And lastly was stealth and patience,getting in undetected and waiting.

I am far from an expert more like a student. I hunt alone mostly at night. I adapt accordingly like I do not use aggressive challenges simply because I do not want 3 or more flying in at 50 MPH into my tiny kill zone. I want them sneaking in curious and peeking around. I have around a 90 degree KZ and 270 degree scan zone,so covering that and the transition to the gun without getting busted is something I am working on, it isn't near as quick as I would like. I watch you guys like a hawk to perfect things like this.
With that said if I had a partner to scan and cover his zone and an area that was larger and didn't have to worry about the house this way and such I would start off with a straight up challenge and hope 4-5 come flying in.
I realize East,West wherever each area and set has it's own challenges

I rarely use challenge howls either. i start every stand with vocals and late winter early spring that is what i rely on. here is a stand i setup on the edge of a brushline that i heard coyotes howl in. by the time i moved on them and setup they had moved closer to the edge of the section placing them at my 9 oclock. i setup with an old abandoned house as a block to my side and the downwind was an open field. i howled and they answered alerting me to the group's new location. a re-orientaed my setup and sat quite making sure nothing would commit planning to re position the call and setup a few yards further down the fenceline. while giving them that silence a single did commit and started working his way down an adjacent fenceline to get down wind. i shot it and decided to stay in place and unlike most i did not follow with pup distress after the shot, instead i went with low volume flycatcher which brought a female circling out in the field. she caught the edge of my scent cone but i got her stopped just before she made it back into the brush line. i sat quite for a couple minutes and her mate started threat barking just inside the brush line. this is a time i went ahead and used challenge howls and his threat barks turned to challenge howls mixed with choppy barks. I worked that coyote as he went back and fourth just inside the brushline. after a few minutes i went into low volume pup wines until he final gave me a head shot as he was poking through the brushline trying to get a visual on me. here is that stand;

<iframe class="rumble" width="640" height="360" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

here is a stand with nothing but sublte vocals in early spring late summer.



both these stands were with what i would call subtle tactics, aside from the challenge howls

 

[DiRTY DOG]

The western terrain here varies so much, that in a half day local hunt, I can start the morning with a stand literally in a Napa Valley CA wine vineyard, stop to call in the Sacramento Valley in the vast rice fields or almond orchards, move over to rolling grassland & oak forest cattle ranches, and then head up into the manzaneta choked coastal mountains at 3000ft, all in a round trip hunt and still lbe home in time to pick the kids up after school. The terrain varies as much as the calling tactics.

So far I have seen nothing unique posted about eastern tactics, I personally do the same stuff out west. Like using more vocals and more silence and longer stands on smaller parcels. Isn't that universal to small proprties no matter east or west?

If there are unique tactics, I'm open ears, hooing to add possabilities to my playbook.

 

[DoubleUp]

I should have mentioned that when we first started in the Calling game, we walked into our stands. It was certainly good exercise because in this flat land there is really not place much to conceal a vehicle. It was however time consuming, so we went to a modified electric golf cart, but we had to pull that around on a trailer, so that was another issue.

IMG_20230317_081948479_HDR by Double Up, on Flickr

Finally, we went to electric bikes. I guess technically they are electric scooters. We carry them on my partner's rig. Normally we park about half a mile from the stand and ride the bikes right up to where make the stand. We are able to carry all our gear on the bikes with our rifles slung across our shoulder or back.

IMG_20230319_193129118_HDR by Double Up, on Flickr

Or on the hitch adapter plate of my truck if I'm hunting alone.

IMG_20191217_112750420 by Double Up, on Flickr

IMG_20191217_120127151 by Double Up, on Flickr

IMG_20191217_115013752 by Double Up, on Flickr

IMG950160 by Double Up, on Flickr

Here are a couple of the bears we have to deal with.

MFDC0716 by Double Up, on Flickr

MFDC1779 by Double Up, on Flickr

 

[Infidel 762]

Oklahoma

Mile for mile, Oklahoma offers the nation's most diverse terrain. It's one of only four states with more than 10 ecoregions, and has by far, the most per mile in America according to the EPA.

 

[hm1996]

Great videos, Jeremy. Thanks!

 

[hm1996]

Finally, we went to electric bikes. I guess technically they are electric scooters.

Have been looking at that possibility, due to health problems can no longer walk very far, especially in soft sand. Not sure if its in the cards, but hoping to get out one of these days. Wondering how those small diameter wheels would be in soft sand? Thinking a regular bike might be easier to control in sand.

Here are a couple of the bears we have to deal with.

Now that is a real different issue than we have to deal with. Different strokes for different folks; its good to see how others solve their unique problems. That first one is a real chunk! Thanks, Owen.